Sebelius visits New Orleans for health care

NEW ORLEANS - U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius wants Louisiana residents to sign up for the Affordable Care Act by March 31.

The Times-Picayune reports that Sebelius met with customers and New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu on Friday.

Sebelius wanted to remind people to that they have eight weeks left before a March 31 deadline to get 2014 coverage on HealthCare.gov.

Sebelius also addressed a complication facing 242,000 of the state's poorest, uninsured residents: They aren't eligible.

Under the leadership of Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal, Louisiana has declined to expand Medicaid to those non-elderly adults whose incomes are below 138 percent of the federal poverty level, as the law allows.

Sebelius says more people in Louisiana would be eligible if Medicaid was extended.